DAI YOUNG last night insisted his Blues won't give up the ghost in Europe despite having their Heineken hopes shattered by Munster.

Young's men went down to a 22-12 defeat to the cup-holders at a sold out Arms Park yesterday to spoil what would otherwise have been a perfect weekend for the Welsh regions.

It's now up to the Scarlets and the Ospreys to fly the flag for Wales in the Heineken Cup - following wins over Toulouse and Calvisano - with the Dragons also very much in the hunt for qualification in the Challenge Cup.

There's virtually no chance of the Blues making the quarter-finals after a second home defeat to add to their Millennium Stadium loss to Leicester.

And next Saturday they face the daunting prospect of travelling to Limerick's Thomond Park, where Munster have never lost in Europe.

But Young remains adamant the Blues won't just lie down and roll over.

"There's a lot of rugby to be played in this group yet and we'd love to have a hand in it," he said. "We are not giving up. It's obviously an uphill struggle for us now and it's made our life very difficult if we want to get out of the group.

"But we are a very proud bunch of players and management. Even if this result means we are out, we are still going to go out there next week all guns blazing to get the win.

"There's a lot of rugby left to play through the season and it's very difficult if you lose momentum. If you chuck three or four games it's very hard to get momentum back.

"I certainly won't allow that among my players and the players won't allow it themselves.

"We want to give it our best and be competitive in every game we play.

"We know Munster are hugely formidable at home and it's going to be a massive challenge for us. But we've got to dust ourselves down and look forward to going to their place with a bit of pressure off us."

Young acknowledges Munster are currently the benchmark for the Blues and every other team with European aspirations.